No Apologies Necessary, Just Strongly Encouraged
by Emachinescat
Summary: Tag to 'Aithusa'. On the ride back to Camelot, the king and his knights attempt to apologize to a distracted Merlin for treating him poorly on the way. Merlin's shocked yet touched, Gwaine's drunk, Elyan's ashamed, and Arthur's just plain awkward. 4x04


No Apologies Necessary, Just Strongly Encouraged

A Merlin Fan-Fiction

SUMMARY: On the ride back to Camelot, the king and his knights attempt to apologize to a distracted Merlin for taking him for granted on the way to find the dragon egg. Gwaine's drunk, Elyan's ashamed, Percival's quiet, Leon's noble and Arthur's just awkward.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, so, on the one note, I loved the episode, and the baby dragon (I want one, so CUTE!) but didn't like the way the knights, especially Gwaine, were behaving toward Merlin. Felt out of character to me, that Gwaine and Elyon and even Leon and Percival to a certain extent, would be acting all high and mighty over Merlin. That's not the same Gwaine I knew from season 3. Anyway, rant over. Here's a tag that I feel the episode sorely needed something like. Enjoy and please review! :)**

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><p><strong>No Apologies Necessary, Just Strongly Encouraged<strong>

On the way back to Camelot from the quest for the dragon's egg, Merlin's bag weighed heavily on his shoulder, his heart even heavier in his chest. He had to make sure no one else touched the bag, lest they catch a glimpse of what was inside – the dragon's egg that was supposed to have been destroyed.

Merlin closed his eyes briefly as he thought about what he had done – he'd left his adversary, unconscious, on the floor while the whole tower collapsed on top of him. Sure, Merlin hadn't known that taking the egg off the pedestal would trigger a trap (though in hindsight, it should have been pretty obvious), and he hadn't _meant_ for the tower to collapse on top of Julius Borden, but the fact was it _had_ happened. He might as well have run a sword through the man. Just because he was a cruel person didn't mean he deserved to _die._

Merlin was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice Gwaine riding close beside him until the man had clapped his strong hand on Merlin's shoulder, causing the servant to jump, nearly falling off his horse. He scrambled for the bag, making sure its contents were safe and secure before turning back to Gwaine. "Merlin," said the knight. That was odd. He sounded nervous.

Merlin was still distracted but managed to lift one eyebrow in a meager impression of Gaius. "Gwaine… what is it?"

He didn't like to be so short with one of his best friends, but he was tired, worried, and guilty – _not_ a good combination.

Gwaine, for his part, looked properly chastised, which was strange because Merlin hadn't chastised him at all. "Gwaine?"

"Ah, yes," the shaggy-haired knight said, eyes locked on Merlin's confused face. "You see, Merlin, it's come to my attention that I – er, we – well, that includes me," he seemed flustered and Merlin almost laughed as it was a rare thing to see Gwaine tongue-tied. Even when he was drunk, the man had an uncanny way with words – but whether they made sense or not was a different matter entirely.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Gwaine," Arthur griped from Merlin's other side, slightly ahead of his servant. "Just spit it out, will you, you're mumbling worse than Merlin!"

"What I'm trying to say, Merlin, is that we – I – have been unfair to you, mate. You're my friend, Merlin, not my servant, and just because you _are_ a servant doesn't mean I should treat you like one."

Merlin smiled, touched and amused. "That _is_ what I'm here for, although a please and thank you might have been nice."

"No," Gwaine snapped, glaring in Arthur's general direction as if the king had done some terrible offense. "That's what the _Queen_ would say—"

"Now, _hang on_," Arthur protested to his new title, but Gwaine barreled on like he hadn't spoken at all.

"—but I've never treated you like some lowly servant I can take advantage of, you've always been my friend. And there I was, ordering you about, making you do my chores, when you _willingly_ helped me polish the boots of Camelot's army all those years ago."

"Gwaine, that was just last year—" Arthur reminded Gwaine, but Gwaine was on a roll and couldn't be bothered to listen.

"Merlin," he said, repeating his friend's name yet again, his voice earnest and sincere (and Merlin could swear he could see a bit of moisture shining in his eyes), "I've always said that nobility is what's on the inside, nothing to do with titles, and that if I had a servant, I'd treat'im properly. I've failed you, old friend. I'm sorry." He hung his head like he was about to be sentenced to death.

Merlin stared, as did the rest of the group of knights, and deadpanned, "You've been drinking again, haven't you, Gwaine?"

Gwaine's eyes darted between Merlin and Arthur, well aware that he wasn't supposed to have had any ale on this quest. "Nnnnoooo," he drawled, then sighed heavily. "I only brought it for celebration," he defended himself weakly.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Why do I even bother?"

Gwaine clasped Merlin's shoulder again. "I meant what I said, though, Merlin. I was treating you the very way I've always hated Arthur treating you. I'm sorry, mate."

Merlin saw the sincerity in his friend's eyes and knew that even if Gwaine was a wee bit drunk – or a wee lot drunk – he was telling the truth. The alcohol had simply opened the barrier between his heart and his mouth, allowing Gwaine to say what had been eating on his mind. "It's alright, it's fine," he assured Gwaine seriously. Gwaine nodded and fell back as the other knights rode closer to Merlin.

"Yeah, Merlin, he's right," came Elyan's voice from somewhere behind Merlin's left ear. "You've been a great friend to Guinevere and I and it wasn't fair for me to treat you without any respect when I would never stand for someone taking my sister for granted like that."

Merlin was sure he was blushing crimson now. Yes, he'd been a bit put-out when all of the knights, including Gwaine, had started treating him like their own personal… well, servant, without any help or thanks, just when he'd thought they'd become more of friends, a tightly knit group… Yeah, that had been disheartening, but for Gwaine and Elyan to apologize to him like that, it meant a lot. And it wasn't over yet.

Leon thanked Merlin for cooking, cleaning up after them, and for taking care of their horses. Percival clasped Merlin's upper arm in a silent sign of apology, a friendly gleam in his eyes. And Arthur… well, he didn't say anything other than, "Well, since you're obviously too _exhausted_ to do any other part of your job," obviously trying to apologize in his own roundabout way for not giving Merlin a break, "I suppose I'll just have to go ahead and _help_ you."

Merlin smirked, recalling their earlier conversation. "Help's another word you don't know the meaning of, isn't it?"

Arthur huffed in laughter. "Shut up, Merlin." He glanced over at his servant; held out his hand. "Here, I'll carry that bag." It was a subtle but kind way of the king trying to make amends. Merlin was touched but there was no way on earth his friend was going to get his royal hands on that dragon-egg laden bag.

"NO!" he nearly shouted, eyes wide. Arthur stared at him, eyebrows raised, and Merlin thought on his feet, which didn't get him much of anywhere. "Er… woodworm repellant. It's, eh, in the bag, very delicate, don't want to mess it up."

Arthur's eyebrows were in his hair now, giving Gaius himself a run for his money. "Woodworms," he repeated incredulously. "Why on earth do you have _woodworm replant_ on this _quest_?" He sounded as if he wasn't sure he really wanted to know the answer to that question.

Merlin thought furiously for several seconds before gesturing wildly around him and blurting, "Because, we're in the _woods_. That's where it all starts," he whispered conspiratorially.

Arthur stared for another second or two, then shook his head, obviously not in the mood to try and decipher whatever was going on in his servant's head. "Right, well this, _Mer_lin, is exactly why you end up doing all the work without any thanks."

Merlin's eyes widened innocently. "Why's that, Arthur?"

"Because," Arthur growled, signaling his horse to go faster with a quick squeeze of his heels. "You are an idiot." He sped ahead, blonde hair flying in the wind.

Merlin laughed, this time the happiness genuine. Despite the darkness that loomed when he thought of Morgana and Agravaine, despite the danger he was in because of the egg in his bag, and despite the guilt and uncertainty about leaving Julius in the tower, Merlin felt happy. He had friends that cared enough to apologize when they thought they had wronged him. And he had Arthur, who would, Merlin had to believe, one day know and accept him, despite his current views on magic.

Someday the baby dragon inside the egg would be free to roam Albion, it would have hope. The new life that would emerge with the cracking of the shell _was_ hope, and Merlin was carrying it with him right now. Everything would turn out somehow, and until then, he could only _hope_.

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><p><strong>AN: I enjoyed that. Hopefully you did too. I still have a tag or two in me from both last week's episode as well as this week's. I'll get on them as soon as I find the time. I was stretching it just writing this one, LOL! Anyway, please review, I love hearing your thoughts! XD**

**~Emachinescat**


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